This morning we’re going to wrap up our study of 1 Timothy. For the last 5 weeks we’ve seen how God intends for us to grow together in his family – the church. We’ve seen that in order to grow together as a family we need to have:
• Sound doctrine that is based on the word of God
• Men and women who serve the church in their god-given roles
• Church leaders who are men and women of good character who desire to serve the church for the glory of God and the well-being of others.
• A church body that treats each other with respect, meets the needs of its people, protects the leadership and promotes a godly lifestyle
In chapter 6, Paul deals with several issues that seem to be unrelated, but as I read through that chapter, there does seem to be a common thread. Paul seems to me to be writing about how we can find contentment in our lives – in our jobs, in our faith and in our finances. And in each one of those areas, we’ll find that:
The key to our contentment is not changing our circumstances, it is changing our focus.
The key to contentment in my job:
August 31, 2005 posting on “Business Wire”:
“No wonder U.S. workers look forward to a long holiday weekend! According to a just-released national poll, 6 in 10 Americans say their jobs are no better than a "so-so" date (no love connection, but the restaurant was great and the meal was free). And some of them might actually prefer a trip to the dentist than to work! “
A Harris poll taken in June 2004 also found that many employees dislike their jobs and do not have good feelings about their employers and senior managers. For example:
• While 59 percent of employees are satisfied with their jobs, that leaves two out of every five (41%) workers who are not.
• Fully one-third (33%) of workers feel that they are at a dead-end at their current jobs, and even more (42%) believe they are "trying to cope with feelings of burnout."
• Fewer than half (44%) of employees feel glad that they chose to work for their current employers over others.
• Only just over a third (37%) believe that their "top management displays integrity and morality."
All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God’s name and our teaching may not be slandered. Those who have believing masters are not to show less respect for them because they are brothers. Instead, they are to serve them even better, because those who benefit from their service are believers, and dear to them. These are the things you are to teach and urge on them.
1 Timothy 6:1, 2 (NIV)
Slavery in the 1st century:
• Much different than the racial slavery of the American South before the Civil War
• Many slaves were permanently employed domestic workers who served as managers, cooks, teachers, and even doctors. They were provided with food, clothing, and shelter and often received a small wage.
• William Barclay estimates that there were as many as 60 million slaves in the Roman Empire
Paul deals with two distinct situations:
Serving a non-Christian master
Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.
1 Peter 2:18-20 (NIV)
Principle:
Honor your master so that the name of God will not be harmed
Serving a Christian master
There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:28 (NIV)
That verse does not eliminate racial, social or sexual distinctions. In the early church it was very possible that an elder could be the slave of another church member who was not in leadership.
Principle:
Work even harder because it will benefit your Christian brother.
Many people mistakenly believe that our work is a result of the fall. But God very clearly assigned work to man before the fall:
The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
Genesis 2:15 (NIV)
As a result of the fall, work did become more painful and difficult, but here is the key to finding contentment in my job:
Focus on my work as service to God
Every legitimate job has intrinsic value because through our work we minister to the needs of other people in the name of God. Our problem is that we try to separate the sacred and the secular. But the Bible is clear that our work is just as “spiritual” as going to church or reading our Bibles or praying.
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life – and place it before God as an offering.
Romans 12:1 (Message)
Martin Luther understood this when he wrote:
"The maid who sweeps her kitchen is doing the will of God just as much as the monk who prays -- not because she may sing a Christian hymn as she sweeps but because God loves clean floors. The Christian shoemaker does his Christian duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship."
In his letters to the churches at Ephesus and Colossae, Paul reinforces and expands upon the principles here in 1 Timothy:
Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.
Ephesians 6:5, 6 (NIV)
Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,
Colossians 3:22, 23 (NIV)
I serve God by serving my employer:
o Obediently
o Completely
o Respectfully
o Eagerly
o Excellently
o Diligently
o Humbly
The key to contentment in my faith:
For the unbeliever, dissatisfaction with one’s faith can often be a positive thing because it leads people to seek out a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. But there is a danger for the believer that when our faith seems stale or when we become dissatisfied with our religion, it might actually draw us away from God, rather than draw us closer. That seems to be the case in the church at Ephesus:
If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain. But godliness with contentment is great gain.
1 Timothy 6:3-6 (NIV)
Apparently, some of the believers at Ephesus had become stale in their faith and they began to follow after false teachers who promised them something more. But there were several problems with their teaching:
It contradicted Scripture (literally “other teaching”)
False teaching can take many forms:
o Deny God’s existence
o Teach error about God’s nature or attributes
o Deny the Trinity
o Error about the Person and work of Jesus: virgin birth, sinless perfection, bodily resurrection
o Denies authenticity and accuracy of Scripture
A minister decided that a visual demonstration would add emphasis to his Sunday sermon. Four worms were placed into four separate jars.
The first worm was put into a container of alcohol.
The second worm was put into a container of cigarette smoke.
The third worm was put into a container of chocolate syrup.
The fourth worm was put into a container of good clean soil.
At the conclusion of the sermon, the Minister reported the following results:
The first worm in alcohol - Dead.
The second worm in cigarette smoke - Dead.
Third worm in chocolate syrup - Dead.
Fourth worm in good clean soil - Alive.
So the Minister asked the congregation - What can you learn from this demonstration?
A little old woman in the back quickly raised her hand and said,
"As long as you drink, smoke and eat chocolate, you won’t have worms!"
Their words were not sound (“sound” = healthy)
It is the message of Jesus Christ that provides the healthy teaching that allows us to grow and mature.
Their teaching did not produce godliness
The ultimate test of any teaching is whether or not it produces a godly life. Teaching that is not based on Scripture will never result in a holy, godly life.
So what is the key to finding contentment in my faith?
Focus on the Word of God
Unfortunately, in our day, too many people try to deal with the staleness in their faith in almost any other way.
o Some have been drawn into cults who have twisted the Word of God to fit their own ideas. These groups often even masquerade as Christians. Many even have good moral values. But ultimately their ways lead to death, not to life.
o Others have gotten caught up in the latest church fads – the “laughter movement” among charismatics, an obsession with prophecy and the end times, or the prosperity gospel that teaches that “godliness is a means to financial gain.”
A devout life does bring wealth, but it’s the rich simplicity of being yourself before God.
1 Timothy 6:6 (Message)
o They go to conferences and read books that promise that some method or practice will put the magic back in their spiritual life.
But there is only one way to effectively deal with false teaching and with unsound words and with teaching that does not produce godliness – I have to focus on God’s Word.
The key to contentment in my finances:
Over the years, there have been a number of polls that ask people their opinion of how much money it takes before someone is considered to be rich. And consistently those polls have shown that no matter what a person’s income level is, the answer to that question is: more than I make.
Almost ½ of American families spend more than they make each year.
The average family has $5,800 in credit card debt. By making the minimum monthly payments, it would take over 30 years to pay off that debt and an additional $15,000 in interest would be paid.
According to a 9/29/05 article in the business section of the Arizona Daily Star, the percentage of credit card accounts that are 30 days or more past due has risen to an all time high of nearly 5%.
For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
1 Timothy 6:7-10 (NIV)
I think it was Rick Warren who coined the comment, “I’ve never seen a hearse towing a U-Haul.” But I like the way that great theologian George Strait puts it in his song “On the Other Side”:
You don’t bring nothing with you here
And you can’t take nothing back
I ain’t never seen a hearse with a luggage rack.
Ann Landers had an interesting letter in her column. It was from a girl who was writing about her uncle & aunt. She said, "My uncle was the tightest man I’ve ever known. All his life, every time he got paid he took $20 out of his paycheck & put it under his mattress.
Then he got sick & was about to die. As he was dying, he said to his wife, "I want you to promise me one thing." "Promise what?" she asked. "I want you to promise me that when I’m dead you’ll take my money from under the mattress & put it in my casket so that I can take it all with me."
The girl’s letter went on with the story. "He died, & his wife kept her promise. She went in & got all that money the day he died & went to the bank & deposited it, & wrote out a check & put it in his casket."
This passage, particularly verse 10, is one of the most misquoted passages in the Bible. How many times have you heard someone say, “Money is the root of all evil?” Money and possessions are neither good nor evil. They are morally neutral. It is our attitude about them that Paul is most concerned with:
People who want to get rich…
…the love of money…
… eager for money…
So how do I have the right attitude about my possessions? How do I avoid falling into a trap when it comes to my finances? It’s not enough just to try to avoid the wrong attitudes. I have to fill my life with the proper attitudes. Here’s the key to being content in my finances:
Focus on God’s priorities
"So don’t worry about having enough food or drink or clothing. Why be like the pagans who are so deeply concerned about these things? Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.”
Matthew 6:31-33 (NLT)
God promises that if I live for Him and make His priorities my priorities, then he’ll take care of every one of my needs. And what are God’s priorities? Those things which will last for eternity – the souls of people.
And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process? Is anything worth more than your soul?
Mark 8:36, 37 (NLT)
Things will never bring us contentment and I can prove it to you. Just go out any Saturday morning and drive around and look at all the yard and garage sales. Most of the stuff that people is selling are things that they just had to have at one time. I know, I’ve been there and done that. I don’t how many times in my life that I just had to have something, only to find out that the anticipation of getting that item was better than actually having it. And I know that I’ll probably do it again. But I hope that I’m learning little by little to just focus on God and the things that are important to Him and then just taking joy and being content with whatever He chooses to bless me with.
How can I find contentment in my life? Three keys:
Focus on my work as service to God in order to be content in my work
Focus on God’s Word in order to be content in my faith
Focus on God’s priorities in order to be content in my finances
